BY: Ayomide Arowobusoye
Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said that a case of B.1.1.7 strain of COVID-19 have been recorded in Nigeria.
This was disclosed on the official twitter account of the NCDC.
This strain of Covid-19 was first reported in the United Kingdom and South Arica.
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Speaking during the Presidential Task Force briefing on Monday, Ihekweazu said “Genomic sequencing done in collaboration with African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), has identified one COVID-19 positive case in Nigeria with B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in UK”
“We continue to work with partners to strengthen genomic surveillance capacity as part of response activities”, he added.
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Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday, January 22, that the mutant coronavirus strain which first emerged in recent months in the U.K. is 30% more deadly than original virus.
